"Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead." ~ Nelson Mandela

Another day has dawned and as we get up to embrace it, I remind us all that our ability to do so comes from above. Thanks for showing up today here at the ole blogger ranch. It's Thursday, February 2, 2017. In a few days, if the Lord provides, I will be posting my 2,500th blog. I seriously considered maybe putting away my quill when I completed the 2,000th. Several encouraged me to keep on slinging words onto the electronic page. I did just that, and will soon have completed 500 daily compilations since worrying out loud whether or not the value of this endeavor had maybe run its course. If it all goes according to plan, that 2500 milestone will be reached next week. This means that once again I am thinking about the future of this daily sharing adventure. I'm not leaning in any direction at this time but I am weighing it all in order to make a decision. I will have a lot to say about this journey on my 2,500th visit, but, I also wanted everyone to know that I am thinking about direction after that day. Yes. It is hard to imagine starting my day without giving the keyboard a workout, however, as Solomon put it in Ecclesiastes, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:.." (Chapter 3, Verse 1) Like I say, I'm pretty anxious myself as I wait to find out what I am going to decide.

This is a photo of mom, dad, and us six kids, Easter of 1953.

One thing is crystal clear. There's a whole lot more important things to deal with than whether a rather obscure fellow keeps pecking away on his keyboard. Just trying to keep it in perspective. Mom's health challenges of late caused quite a bit of reflection on the family journey God has given to our clan. This past New Year's Eve, I was traveling to Alexandria, Louisiana, to be with mom as they prepared her for surgery on her hip. I had my satellite radio playing most of the way and I typically listen mostly to old time radio programs. They were playing many of my favorites with a special emphasis on New Year celebrations. I listened to Fibber Magee and Molly from New Year's Eve in 1953. Fibber asked if the paper had come yet. Molly said it had and they both looked at the front page. Fibber mentioned how odd that 4 looked and he wondered out loud about just what might happen in 1954. Molly said she hoped the countries of the world would learn to listen to each other and to live in peace. (Good luck with that one.) They were both excited about the prospects that 1954 might bring. That show made a lot of sense to me. Because, as I thought about my mom, I couldn't help but remember how the new year of 1954 forever changed our lives. On January 2, 1954, while so many were getting back into the routine of another new year, mom and us six kids were trying to make sense out of the sudden death of our dad. Talk about monumental, that one forever changed the course of mom's life and the lives of us children as well. That's what I thought about as I traveled down the road. Her strength, her courage, her resilience, and her fierce protection of her children. That great loss in early 1954 would be a big one, but, sad to say, only one of the many great challenges mom would end up facing. I'll say it one more time, she continues to be a remarkable woman. Remarkable indeed!

That may sound sad or perhaps even morbid to some. And, yes, there's some sentimentality on my part when I think about stuff like that. However, God has been with us all throughout the journey. And, for 92.5 years He has been with our mom. She is not in a good place at the moment. I'm not talking about the facility she is in. I suppose it is adequate. But, she can't help but wonder if she will ever be able to recover any ability to function. Before her fall, she was for all intents and purposes, nearly blind. However, she knew her way around their house. She could still cook their meals. She could still use multiple magnifying glasses to read her Bible and to see what's up with the family on Facebook. As she lays there day after day, these are the questions that haunt her. Yet, we see her and we laugh with her because we know she is a living example of God's provision and grace. When I drove in this morning and got out of my truck I could hear the nearby train clicking and clacking its way down the track. It was still pitch dark. I stood there taking in the cool crisp air. Listening. That train sound was an important part of my life growing up and I can't help but be thankful for the ride that God has allowed me to take. That train sound brought back so many memories but at the end of it all, just thankful. That's all. Just thankful. Amen. ....More later.